Ret. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Joel Washington, died peacefully on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012, at the age of 84 in Las Vegas.

Although, he had spent years living in the following states throughout his life: Tennessee, California, Maryland, Florida and Texas. Old town Las Vegas was where he called home since the early 1990s.

Maj. Washington was born in Nashville on Aug. 3, 1928, and he was one of eight children. His parents were the late Francis Alfred and Mary Nell Koester Washington. He was also preceded in death by brothers, Francis Whiting "Bo", Alan, and Robert Howell Washington, sisters, Marjorie Jenks and Emily Brown.

Maj. Washington graduated Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville and attended Vanderbilt University. He served in the Navy and made a career serving our country in the United States Marine Corps. He served with the first Marine Aircraft Wing in Korea in 1951-1952. He has served at a variety of duty stations a few of which included: Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, 29 Palms, Quantico, San Diego, Cherry Point, Parris Island, Japan San Francisco, Okinawa, Fort Sill, Okla., and the Great Lakes, Ill. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1968 after 22 years of service.

He had a love for politics and history. He enjoyed reading anything he could get his hands on and was very accomplished with knowledge of just about any subject. Always eager to get to know people and learn what they were about, he never met a stranger. With an amazing gift of making people feel welcome, he told wonderfully engaging stories. He was generous with his spirit and consistently looked out for the underdog. He had a love for animals and had a big heart when it came to looking out for them.

The family will receive visitors at Woodfin Memorial Chapel in Murfreesboro, TN on Sunday, Nov. 18 from 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm. Graveside service at Washington Cemetery on Manson Pike at 3 pm with Military Rites.

In lieu of flowers we would like to ask you to donate to an animal shelter of your choice in his honor.